Abel Méndez, planetary scientist and director of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico, used Hubble albedo data to render a computer visualization of Pluto. In 2015, we'll see what Pluto really looks like when NASA's New Horizons probe flies by.

Mars rover Opportunity looks up at Murray Ridge, a 40 meter high hill on Endeavour’s rim above the surrounding plain, Meridiani Planum. It was named after ex-JPL director Bruce Murray who died earlier this year at the age of 81.

On July 19, NASA's Cassini Saturn orbiter drifted behind the ringed gas giant, photographing this mosaic of Saturn blocking the sun -- Earth, Venus and Mars also appeared, as tiny specks of distant light. This week, the incredible mosaic was released to the world.

A view from a Russian search and rescue helicopter it flies from the city of Karaganda to Zhezkazgan in Kazakhstan, Nov. 10, 2013, Kazakh time, a day ahead of the scheduled landing of the Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft with the Expedition 37 crew.

NASA/Carla Cioffi

The Soyuz TMA-09M's retrorockets fire as the Expedition 37 crew touch down southeast of the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, after nearly six months in space.